La Petite Mort
by Wax Angel Wings
Summary: AU Slightly: What if Hoffman had a woman in his life BEFORE he met John Kramer? How would things play out for him, her, and Jigsaw? Starts out prior to Hoffman meeting Jigsaw. Please read and review, even if you think it's totally Mary Sue and hate it!
1. Kindred Spirits

La Petite Mort

Chapter I: Kindred Spirits

Author's note: Okay so I'm bored, and since I don't like any of the normal pairings for Saw I decided to make up my own character to be with Hoffman. I mean I can't really see Hoffman with Amanda or Jill it just doesn't work in my mind. I doubt anyone will read this, but if you do, please review! If you wonder where I get my ideas, or other stupid facts, repeat to yourself it's just a story, and I really should relax.

She sat in the bar every night, just like him. Getting up the nerve to talk to him was getting easier and easier with every passing drink. She wondered why he was there, why he had to drink himself into oblivion every night like she had to. It was the only way she could even entertain the idea of falling asleep. She took another sip of her martini and looked over at him. He was downing tequila, something she wouldn't dare to touch because it made her sick in the mornings. Finally, he looked in her direction and she smiled at him flirtatiously. He was so amazingly attractive and she was drawn to his beautiful eyes.

Leila Dawson was far from being ugly. With her waist long chestnut colored hair and bright green eyes, she was envied. Her body was perfect, small waist, toned ass, and perky chest. She always felt like she could get any guy she wanted if she tried hard enough, and 99% of the time it was true. Her head wasn't so far up her own ass that she thought she was God's gift to men, but she knew she was attractive and that gave her an air of confidence.

The man, who's name she still didn't know, got up and came over to her table just as she was lighting a cigarette. He sat down and that's when she knew contact would be made that night. She had admired him from afar for the longest time and now it was time to talk. "Hello." She said and then took a drag from her cigarette.

"You were looking at me." He said, his voice was deep and gruff, she already liked him.

"I always look at you. If you've noticed I come in here every night like you do. What are you trying to forget?" She asked and then sipped her martini. She knew he was trying to forget something because she was too. An accident that had happened not too long ago, involving her sister. Something she might have been able to prevent if she hadn't been so self involved with her career and other things.

"Maybe I should be asking you the same thing." He replied, not offering a name. She shrugged, deciding that she would tell him why she was there. Maybe breaking the ice first would help him to lower his wall of defense.

"It's all about my sister. You see she called me from a bar to get a ride home. At the time I was working on a paper to be published in a medical journal. I told her I was busy and she ended up hitching a ride with a man who claimed he was sober. Needless to say, she never made it home." By the time she was finishing the story she felt her voice start to crack. She didn't like to cry in front of anyone, so she cleared her throat and blinked back the tears that she felt coming on. The accident had happened not too long ago and she didn't really like to talk about it, but this new man seemed to be a kindred spirit of some kind. She really wanted to talk to him. That's when she held out her hand, "Leila Dawson."

He looked at her for a moment, wearily, and then took her hand and shook it, then he said, "Mark Hoffman." She smiled, now she knew his name. Everything about him was so damn sexy, and yet it left her to wonder why he was there alone. He was the kind of good looking guy who could have any woman he wanted, and yet he was here. She guessed maybe they weren't all that different.

"So why are you here?" She asked, picking up the toothpick in her drink that held the olives. She put it to her mouth and pulled one of them off, chewing it slowly before taking another drag from her cigarette.

"Because of a man named Seth Baxter." Hoffman replied. The name definitely rang a bell in Leila's head. She remembered headlines from a time back, she thought that he was murdered, so why was he a problem?

"Wasn't he a victim of that Jigsaw killer?" Leila asked. She had a lot of things in her life to be ashamed about and when she thought hard enough it scared her to realize that she could very easily be a victim of Jigsaw and his weird rules about appreciating life. She most certainly didn't appreciate her life and around every corner she was just waiting to be put in a trap.

"Something like that." Hoffman replied and then motioned to the bartender.

"God, if Jigsaw knew about me, I'd be in his next trap. I swear to God." Leila said and then laughed, "Here I am drowning my sorrows, every night, boy do I appreciate life." She took another drag from her cigarette and flicked the ashes into the glass ashtray in front of her. The bartender came over with another one of whatever Hoffman was drinking and set it down. Hoffman offered him a nod and quickly picked up the drink, downing a few gulps before setting the glass back down.

"I appreciate my life considerably more now that you came into it." Hoffman replied. This caused Leila to blush, but the lighting in there was dark so she was sure he couldn't see. It was one of the most cheesy lines she had heard in a long time, but he wasn't a skeevy bar hopper trying to get laid. At least she didn't see him like that.

"Thank you. I think the feeling is mutual." Leila said and then finished her martini. She knew she was done for the night, any more and she wouldn't be able to even walk the few blocks back to her penthouse. "What do you do, Mark?"

"Detective." He said with a shrug, "You?"

"Psychiatrist for the rich." Leila said with laughter behind her voice, "I didn't start out that way, but the appeal of making more money was something I couldn't resist. See how much Jigsaw needs to get my ass?" Hoffman smiled and then chuckled a little.

"I'm sure we both are a candidate for one of his games." He replied with a nod. Leila's eyes scanned his body, he was in perfect shape. She knew that he would be able to throw her around the room and take what he wanted from her and she really liked that about a man. Hoffman downed the rest of what he had in his glass in a few big gulps.

"How about we go back to my place? The booze there is top shelf and free." Leila suggested, "I only live a few blocks away." Hoffman seemed to brighten considerably at this option.

"Let me pay my tab." He said and got up to walk over to the bar. A smile spread across Leila's face. For once she was going to take a guy home, not out of desperation, but out of a connection she had made. She was sure that this would not be a one night stand. He was smart, suave, and had a sense of humor that matched her own. She didn't know much about him, but she could save that for later. After all, he was coming home with her.

* * *

"You just didn't have to pay my tab, that's all I'm going to say." Leila laughed as she opened the door to her penthouse. She was surprised that he would do that, considering the fact that she was drinking twelve dollar martinis. The thing was, she expected to pay his tab for him. She definitely made at least twice his salary as a detective and she knew it.

"Don't worry about it." Hoffman said as he laid eyes on her suite for the first time. It opened up into a big room, there was a baby grand piano near the floor to ceiling windows in the corner. It over looked the city and it was incredibly beautiful. She lived in a very nice part of town. A few feet over, and away from the piano was a marble fireplace. It ran on gas, which Leila liked way more than just wood. Anyone who would choose to start a fire from scratch had way too much time on their hands.

In the middle of the great living room was a white sectional and an oak coffee table set in front of it. Behind that was a fully stocked bar, complete with every glass anyone could ever think of needing, to serve any drink. Leila's knowledge of mixology was small. All she ever really made for herself were cosmopolitans and martinis. She knew how to make other drinks, but rarely ever drank them herself.

"What's your poison?" She asked after locking the door. Her intent was to head over to the bar, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her into a passionate kiss. That was something she could totally deal with. Small talk was something she always hated and if he just wanted to get down to business then she was game. She immediately kissed him back, tossing her purse haphazardly onto the wooden oak table by the door. It landed with a clang and fell off, but she didn't care. It was time for him to take control.

As they continued kissing, he pushed her back, towards the couch. It was hard to walk in stilettos, even harder when she was drunk, and that was made much worse now that she had to walk backwards and everything was combined. She stumbled for a few steps, but his hand pressed into her lower back roughly, keeping it so she wouldn't fall. She wrapped her arms around him and kicked her shoes off, falling back onto the couch and away from him, breathing hard.

"Take me, fuck me, do whatever you want." Leila said, brushing some hair out of her face. Hoffman gave her an unbelievably sexy smirk and before she knew it, he was on top of her. She was wearing a business suit and skirt, with thigh high stockings, giving him easy access to her body. His hands flew to her blazer and quickly got it off. He had obviously done this a time or two before.

She helped him get her shirt off so she was just in her bra. He started to kiss down her neck, to her shoulder blade and down her chest. She squirmed and moaned underneath him. It would be way too hard to get her skirt off so she just pulled it up to reveal the black, lace thong she was wearing. He was still in his suit from work, and she was reminded of a song lyric from her days back in the club scene. _He's as smart as a fox, someone you can't fool. He's dressed like Capone and he makes the rules..._the song lyrics ran through her head. This caused her to smile.

When she opened her eyes again he had his shirt off, and her hands went to his chest, clawing at it as his hard cock entered her body. She screamed out in pleasure and wrapped her long legs around his waist. He was about six feet tall, she was guessing, but she herself was 5'9, giving her lanky, gazelle legs. As he thrust into her she moaned loudly. The only suite on this floor was hers, and since it was the top floor she really didn't have to worry about making too much noise.

She looked into his beautiful eyes and he looked down into hers. She had never felt more aroused than she did at that moment. There was something about him, his eyes, his body, his smell, his smile, something. She was quickly approaching orgasm, and that was rare for her. Usually she went through the motions of sex but hardly ever orgasmed. Now, it had been maybe two minutes and she was already there. She put her hands on his shoulders and dug her perfectly manicured nails into his skin.

"OH GOD! MARK!" She screamed and rode over the edge to orgasm. He, however, was not done. The thrusts now took on an odd sensation of pleasure and pain at the same time. She hadn't ever had multiple orgasms, but with the way he was going she certainly would. After trying to catch her breath, she looked into his eyes again. He looked down, an animalistic grin on his face, he was pumping her fast and hard.

"OH GOD! OH FUCK!" She screamed, his groans and grunts weren't very loud but every one of them was like music to her ears. The pressure inside of her was building and she clenched her legs around him even tighter, pulling him deeper inside of her. This time, they exploded together, his hot seed spilling and her walls clenching. It was the most amazing orgasm she had ever had. He let her collapse back onto the couch and she closed her eyes. The waves of pleasure still rocking her body, slowly diminishing. "Mark, that was amazing."

"It was." He replied, she could hear his labored breathing. When she opened her eyes again he was on the other part of her couch, still completely dressed in only his pants. Her eyes strayed to his chest and she felt a flush of arousal. What was wrong with her? She pushed her skirt down and sat up.

"You...wow, just wow." She said and after another moment of resting, got up and walked over to her purse. With shaky hands she opened it and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. She walked back over to the couch and sat down, lighting one of them up and taking in a very pleasurable drag. She looked at him while exhaling, "Sorry, does this bother you?"

"Not at all." He replied and then got up. She was wondering if she was ever going to see him again. The thought that this might be some sort of one night stand broke her heart.

"What do you usually have for breakfast?" Leila asked hoping to draw out a response that would answer if he was staying or not. He turned his head slowly and looked at her.

"I'm sure anything you can make would be perfect." Hoffman replied and walked over to where she was sitting and took a seat next to her. She let out a nervous laugh and a hand strayed to her hair, tugging at a random strand that just wouldn't stay in place. She would see him in the morning and for that she was glad. Hopefully it would turn into more than just sex.

* * *

Over the next four days, they met at the bar every night. Always going back to her place when they were suitably drunk. They talked and talked, in fact the second night they just lay in her bed and discussed everything. Politics, morals, religion, everything. The sex was still amazing and she found that she missed him even when he just went into the kitchen to get a snack. On the morning of the fifth day, a muffin basket arrived at her front door just as she was getting ready for work. It was a thank you from a long time patient.

Hoffman and Leila enjoyed muffins and talked over coffee, before kissing goodbye and going their separate ways. It was unsaid that they were going to meet in the bar after work, but she knew that was how it would play out. Except when she got to the bar that night, he wasn't there. Knowing that he was a detective, she assumed that he just didn't have set hours, but then he would have called. The one time he was running late he had let her know. So what was with him? Was he just going to blink out of her life never to return?

As she was finishing her third, twelve dollar martini, she realized that he wasn't going to call and he wasn't going to show up. Her mind just screamed about what a prick he was. How dare he not call her? How dare he not show up? That was about the time the tears started to flow. That night she didn't get completely trashed, she just headed back home, alone. She didn't know where he was or if she would ever see him again. All she wanted to do was sleep.

* * *

The next morning she woke up to an empty bed, and one of Hoffman's ties left on a chair across from where she lay. This brought on a whole new bout of tears and she decided right then and there that she was canceling all of her appointments for the day. She had other stuff she could do around the house, and she really didn't feel like seeing anyone after what she had been through. Her heart had been thoroughly shredded.

With breakfast she had a mimosa, thinking that it would help her relax. As she was finishing another muffin from the gift basket her phone started to ring. She looked down at it and Mark's name came up. At that point she couldn't have been more happy. She quickly pressed the "send" button, and placed the phone to her ear. "Mark, oh God I thought I'd never hear from you again!"

"Leila," he replied and then there was a sigh, "I guess I owe you an explanation."

"You're damn right you do." She replied, sniffing back a few happy tears. She didn't want him to know how incredibly happy she was to hear from him again. One person always had to have the upper hand in the relationship and she wanted to be that person. "Where were you?"

"I met a man, who I think you should meet." Hoffman said, "I had a lot of thinking to do last night and meeting you slipped my mind."

"It's okay, I didn't even go to the bar last night. I was working on an article." She lied casually, not knowing if he could hear the tremble in her voice. "Who is this mystery man who changed your life over night?"

"A man named John Kramer."

Author's note: See, this story will progress into the Saw universe, I just had to start it at a place where it would make sense to bring a woman into Hoffman's life. I still doubt anyone is reading this but whatever. If I get a review I'll continue. Hope to hear something soon!


	2. Foolish Games

La Petite Mort

Chapter II: Foolish Games

Author's Note: So yeah, I got a few reviews so I am continuing. Everyone happy? I know that I am! WOOT! Anyway, Amanda will probably be a part of this but lets just assume she came in on a different path. That's all I'm going to say. Enjoy and REVIEW PLEASE!

Two more weeks passed and Leila never saw hide nor tail of this John Kramer man. All she knew is that Hoffman would meet with him on random nights and the next day there was a headline about the Jigsaw killer striking yet again. She wasn't positive, and she didn't want to make any accusations, but she was beginning to think that Hoffman had something to do with all of this. Her train of thought was _not _that John Kramer was Jigsaw, but that Hoffman was.

The problem was, she was falling in love with Hoffman and as long as he decided that he was not going to put her in a trap, she guessed she could live with him being a notorious serial killer. She was in her kitchen making lunch, just a salad, while her new Irish wolf hound puppy begged at her feet. Hoffman had gotten her that dog for "protection" at least that's what he had said. She didn't know what she needed to be protected from but she loved dogs and was not about to turn down the gift.

"C'mon Sawyer, this is a bunch of vegetables in a bowl. You won't like it." She spoke to him. As she knew, it was not overly bizarre to talk to your pet even though you might be the only one to hear it. Talking and spending time with animals had amazing health benefits and she had even done a study on that once, back when she was doing her dissertation. She had named him Sawyer because one of her favorite shows was Lost. In fact that was really the only TV she watched besides the news.

She added some ranch dressing, low fat, to the salad and headed over to the kitchen table. Sawyer just sat there looking up at her. She knew if she handed over a carrot or something, he would eat it, but she was not about to train him into thinking that begging got him food. Everyday she would leave her private practice to come home for lunch. That was the good thing about being her own boss.

As she was clearing the table she thought she heard some one enter the apartment. She looked down at the dog who was sleeping in his bed in the corner. She listened intently for a moment and when she didn't hear anything else she went back to running the water and washing the salad dish out. All of the sudden there was a presence behind her, she could feel it, like someone who sidled up behind her intending to cover her eyes, although she knew that was not what was going to happen. She grabbed a knife from the counter and turned around swiftly. The last thought to run through her head before being knocked out was that she was finally going to be tested.

* * *

When she woke up, there was a heavy, metal, contraption on her head. It went around her mouth and hooked into her jaw. She could feel and taste the blood and metal. Her wrists were bound to the chair she was sitting in with duct tape, at least that's what she was guessing. At first she was a little disoriented from whatever had been injected into her but she forced herself to pay attention. Remember her surroundings, and figure out how to beat the test even before she heard the rules. The room was dark, but she could make out a black box that must be a TV. She had read, and heard, all about the Jigsaw murders. As a psychiatrist it fascinated her and she was even able to get some crime scene reports from a source other than Hoffman. When it came to Jigsaw, Mark rarely had anything to say.

Suddenly, the TV came on and on the screen was the face of what looked like a ventriloquist dummy. It was a bizarre face, white with red cheeks and big eyes. She had seen dummies before, but weren't they supposed to look lifelike? She didn't like this one bit. It was about that time that the doll started to talk.

"Hello Leila. For the past five years you've had many vices, narcotics, pills, and your latest vice, alcohol. You hope to find solace at the bottom of a bottle every time you go to the bar. On the floor if this room is the body of the former patient that supplied you with your favorite addiction, percocet. Once the timer starts you will have two minutes to find the key in her stomach. If the timer goes off before you find the key, your jaw will be permanently snapped open. Think of it as a reverse bear trap. Do you have what it takes to survive? Live or die, make your choice." The voice of the doll was dark and deep, but it did not sound like Hoffman. Since she had never actually met John Kramer, there was no way she could know that it was the voice that belonged to him, however altered it was.

The TV switched to static and then shut off. A few lights came on from behind her but the room was still rather dark. Over in the corner was indeed her former patient, Sarah Watson. She had been a nurse in a local ER and provided Leila with percocet as long as she got a clean bill of health from her psychiatrist. It was a very bad form of bribery and the only one she had ever told was _her _psychiatrist after she had been sent to rehab.

Leila didn't hear a timer ticking away yet, and she didn't see any sort of clock on the wall. As she told herself not to start panicking, she pulled at the duct tape bindings on her wrists. They tore easily, and without thinking about it, she pulled her head away from the back of the chair. That's when she heard a pin being pulled and clanging to the ground. The timer started. _SHIT _she screamed in her head, and forced herself to run towards Sarah.

When she got there, she found a scalpel by the body. Sarah was laying there not moving, but Leila could see the small rise and fall of the chest. Sarah was not dead. The next thing she did was try to pull at the trap on her head, every which way, shaking and screaming. Nothing that she did was working and she knew that she was going to have to cut into this living body.

_She's not dead! You can't do that! You're a doctor for fuck's sake! _Her brain screamed at her, but she didn't want to die, not there, not like that. Her shaky hands found the scalpel again. She closed her eyes, and with tears rolling down her cheeks, she stabbed the knife into Sarah's abdomen. As a student in med school she had learned basic surgical procedures so she wanted to make this as quick and painless as possible. She didn't know the extent to which Sarah was alive, but she hadn't made a sound once the blade had entered her.

Leila made a vertical incision and then jammed her hand into the wound, searching for something that shouldn't be there. Time was ticking away, she was harming a living being, and all she cared about was saving her own life. Finally, when she knew that her last thirty seconds just had to be flying by, she found the key. Her bloody hands went to the trap on her head and she found a padlock behind it. It was hard to hold the small key, as slick as her hands were and as bad as they were shaking, but she managed to unlock the padlock.

Once it was off she tossed the whole contraption onto the floor. A split second later it popped open, causing her to scream. All she could taste and smell was blood. Another light came on and she heard the squeaking of tires, or the like. She turned her head, only to see the same doll that had been on the TV screen moments before. It was riding a small, red, tricycle. She started to cry, thinking that none of this was over, that she was going to die anyway.

"So many people are so ungrateful to be alive, but not you, not any more." The doll said. She looked at it intently for a minute before getting up and running to the door. Taking one last look at the room, she burst out of the door and into the sunlight. The first thing she was going to do was get herself to a hospital.

* * *

"NO! I want to see Mark Hoffman. I know my rights!" Leila shouted when the man she now knew as Detective Tapp started to ask her questions. She didn't like this man already, he was cold and he seemed like any moment could cause him to have some sort of psychotic break. She didn't know if Hoffman was even on the Jigsaw case, seeing as how he kept her in the dark, but if she was going to make a report it would be him that would take it.

"He's unavailable at the moment." Detective Tapp's partner spoke up, and she didn't believe him for a minute.

"Then I'll wait." She informed them and folded her arms over her chest. The truth was she didn't have to talk to them at all. They had only been called because of her bizarre injuries. Some ER nurse or the like called them. She had planned on filing a report, but not right that minute. Obviously seeing that he was getting nowhere, Tapp turned to his partner, whose name Leila still didn't know.

"Lets get some coffee, it's going to be a long day." He said. Then the two of them left. Leila picked up her stuff, looked around, and when she saw no one was watching her, she booked it out of the ER. Once she was outside she hailed a cab and got in. She didn't have her purse or even any shoes, but she knew when she got to the penthouse she could run in and grab some cash.

* * *

Once she paid the cabby and was back in her home, she sat on the couch, her knees pulled up to her chest. In one hand was an unopened bottle of Grey Goose, and in the other, her cell phone. She looked over at the phone, which she had been staring at for at least an hour. Sawyer was on the couch next to her with his head in her lap. She wanted to call Hoffman and yell at him, tell him that he could find a new piece of tail to fuck with, but she couldn't. At that point she knew she was in love with him even if he was the one who did this to her.

Her face ached from where the trap had dug into her jaw, she had left without a prescription for pain killers, but she didn't care. The last thing she wanted to do was hop back on the narcotic train. In fact, when she was in the ER she refused everything but Tylenol. Hoffman, or Jigsaw, was clearly watching her every move and she wasn't going to tempt fate. There was a loud knock at the door, this caused her to jump and drop the cell phone. Sawyer barked and bolted over to the door.

"Who is it?" She called in a voice that was shakier than she would have liked it to be.

"Mark." The familiar voice answered. Tears sprung to her eyes as she got up and walked over to the door. Before opening it she set the bottle of vodka on the table next to the door. Luckily the seal had not been broken and she had not been drinking. If Hoffman was Jigsaw then he would see that she had been somewhat rehabilitated. She opened the door and with one look into his concerned eyes, she started to sob. He took her into his arms. "Are you okay? I came as soon as I heard."

"I was so scared, Christ Mark he made me kill to save my own life." She sobbed into his chest. He held her tightly, and if she could see the concerned expression on his face from where she was it would have only fueled her tears more.

"I know. Detective Tapp informed me." He replied, "How about you let me in and we can talk."

"Yes, that sounds like a good idea." Leila said. She sniffed back more tears and pulled away from him, backing up from the doorway. He came inside and Sawyer began the routine of sniffing the new comer. "Can I get you anything?" "I'm fine." He said and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, "Lets sit down." Leila nodded slowly. She didn't want to recount the story, not even to him but she knew she had to. After shutting and locking the door as many times as it could be locked, she headed over to the couch with him. It was time to spill her guts.

Author's note: Wow so that's over LoL! Anyone still reading? I am really getting into this little fic I'm writing, so I'll probably continue despite lack of reviews. If you are reading, please review, even if you hate it! Thanks!


	3. Vengeance

La Petite Mort

Chapter III: Vengeance

Author's Note: It's no surprise that I hated the ending to Saw VII and well I am going to write what I want to write. This story was supposed to chronicle everything through out the series but lets skip all that shit and jump to what everyone wants to read. If you read the first two chapters you'll know that Leila is going to be a part of this. If you don't like my stories or whatever don't read. I already got 8 reviews on this story and am hoping for more, good or bad. Anyway, if you are wondering where I get my ideas, or other stupid facts, repeat to yourself it's just a story and I really should relax.

Timeline Notice: This takes place starting directly after Saw VI if you couldn't figure it out on your own from the beginning.

All Leila knew was that Mark had been working with the FBI for a bit. They had been going after someone named Peter Strahm who was supposedly the next Jigsaw. Leila wasn't stupid, and with all she had seen and heard from Mark she knew that he was in fact Jigsaw although he never came out and said it. She was a psychiatrist for Christ's sake and there were tell tale obvious signs. After all the biggest clue was when the news of John Kramer's death hit. She knew that he knew that she was aware of what was going on but it was just something they never spoke of.

That day at around noon he had shown up at her place looking rattled. She had come home for lunch as she usually did, but he didn't call ahead to make his presence known. Either he was hiding out or he knew that she was going to be there anyway and wanted to talk to her. "There's not much time." He said after coming in the door and handing her a rather bulky envelope.

"Mark?" She asked slowly and then kissed him on the cheek to greet him. He was acting more suspicious and paranoid than usual and she wondered if this would be the time he would reveal to her what he was. Carefully he started to check every room, looking around making sure that no one was there. Sawyer followed him around wagging his tail and looking happy. He had grown into one huge dog and was great in way of protection. Leila had not been tested or messed with since her time a few months ago and she believed she had Sawyer and Hoffman to thank for that.

After closing every curtain to the picture windows in the penthouse Mark turned to her. "I'm the one." He said cryptically. She furrowed her brow and then realized what he was trying to say to her.

"I know." She said back softly, realizing now what all the paranoia and secrecy was about. He didn't have to say any more than that and she wasn't going to let him elaborate. Anything he said could be pulled out of her if there ever was an interrogation and she didn't want to be in that position. "What's the envelope?"

"If I'm not back by midnight you need to open it." He informed her, "But _only _then. Understood?"

"Yeah but Mark I-"

"Shh. Things will work out I promise." He said stopping in front of her and taking her hand into his. She tried to smile at him but it wouldn't come. All she was thinking was that at midnight she was going to be opening the envelope because something was telling her he was not coming back. "How long have you known?"

"Since I was tested." She said truthfully.

"And you didn't want me out of your life?" He asked, sounding a little bit surprised. She smiled and looked away from him.

"Jigsaw tested me, not you. Besides, no one else sees the man I see." She said and then looked back to him. He had a slight smile on his lips and he pulled her into a passionate kiss. She kissed back with all of her might, knowing that this could be the very last time she saw him.

"I have to go. Remember, midnight." He said after pulling away from the kiss. She nodded, clutching the envelope tight in her hand. She couldn't begin to imagine what was in there and she wished to God that she wasn't going to have to read it but she knew in her heart that wasn't possible. As she watched him walk out of the door she was sure this was the last bit of a peaceful life she was going to have.

It was 11:58 and Mark was nowhere to be seen. He hadn't called, and he certainly hadn't showed up. She wanted to rip the envelope open right then and there but he had specified midnight and hell he still had two minutes to make good on his promise, though she knew he wouldn't. Sawyer sat by the door like he was waiting for something as she sat on the couch smoking a cigarette. Despite all of the ways her life had changed after her test she had not stopped smoking, it was all she really had besides Mark, that was.

The old grandfather clock she had inherited from her father suddenly chimed twelve and she was startled into action. Without really knowing she was doing it, the envelope was ripped open and she dumped out the contents. On top was a note, written in his handwriting. _Leila, if I haven't returned by now I most likely need help. _It went on to read his location which was some abandoned zoo out in the styx. Forgetting about everything else in the envelope she stood up and grabbed her keys from the counter.

She didn't know why she was going to help him, or even how, but she just had to. There was no indication that someone was out for his blood, but what if one of the test subjects found him and wanted some kind of revenge? What if something had backfired? What if he was stuck in some sort of trap by accident? She wasn't going to leave it up to chance. He was Mark Hoffman but he was still a human and not the God she wanted to make him out to be.

"You be good Sawyer, I'll only be gone for a bit." She said as she was leaving. He let out a pathetic little bark and she was off to the garage to get to her car.

When she pulled up behind the abandoned building where Mark indicated he would be, she saw his car right away. The sinking suspicion that something was wrong would not leave her chest and she was starting to freak out. Without any sort of weapon to arm herself, she headed inside. She guessed she figured that Mark would save her should she come to any harm. Little did she know, he was the one in trouble.

The only thing that made sense to do, by the time she got inside, was follow the lit hallways. Besides, every so often on the floor there were tiny drops of blood and she was betting that someone had been that way recently. "Mark?" She half whispered, half called. That's when she rounded a corner and saw a blond woman standing there staring intently at a door with a frosted glass window and bars on it. Before the words of surprise could exit her lips to ask the woman who the hell she was, there was a loud anguished scream, and she could only recognize it as Mark's.

Suddenly the window in the door shattered and his face appeared but it was in some sort of revised reverse bear trap, like the one she had been placed in only months before. "MARK!" She screamed but he was beyond hearing her at that point. That's when the woman appeared to realize that Leila was standing there. She looked at the door and then at Leila and took off running as fast as she could.

Forgetting about who that bitch was and why she was standing there instead of helping. Leila went to the door and opened it only to find Mark on the floor with his face ripped open. "SHIT!" She cried and rushed over to him, doubting that he was even going to be able to talk at that point.

"Leila..." He said through a mouthful of blood.

"Mark! How did-what is-who was that woman?" Leila asked talking a mile a minute, not that she really expected any sort of answer from him. He looked over at her like he was realizing something.

"Jill..." He growled and she slowly helped him to his feet. It was lucky that she was a doctor because now she would be able to help him. Heaven knew they couldn't take him to a hospital after all that had happened. The new fangled looking reverse bear trap sat on the floor near by. "Go get her." He ordered.

"But-"

"LEILA!" He shouted. She nodded and took off running in the direction that this woman, now known as Jill, had gone. She didn't see her right away but went in the same direction anyway. She didn't feel right leaving Mark with the injuries that he had but it seemed he might be able to take care of himself.

"HEY BITCH! GET BACK HERE!" She yelled looking around for Jill. She ran past an alcove and then stopped herself and backtracked. It wasn't a stretch to think that she herself would hide there if she was being chased. She turned back and looked, only to see Jill cowering there. "What the fuck whore?"

"You don't understand! He..."

"I don't care what he did!" Leila shouted and lunged at Jill, taking her down to the floor. Now, Leila knew as much about hand to hand combat as she knew about nuclear physics but she was going to give it her all. It didn't take a genius to figure out that the predicament her lover was in was caused by the bitch under her. Before she could do anything, Jill reached up and clawed at her face leaving deep scratches under her eye. Leila cried out and brought her hand to her face as Jill pulled away and took off running.

She could feel blood seeping from the fresh wound and now both of her eyes were watering from the pain. It would be best to just forget about the attempted murderer and go back to Mark to help him. She cursed under her breath and headed back to the room only to meet Mark on his way out. "She got away. Mark we need to fix your face." He didn't verbally answer her but motioned for her to follow him, in his hand he was holding the modified reverse bear trap. Just looking at the thing made Leila want to scream but she held back, everything was just happening too fast, and was too intense.

As she followed him to wherever they were going she noticed that his hand was fucked up too. Whatever he had done to get out of the trap had included smashing his hand. A shudder traveled through her body involuntarily. "Don't you think we should go to the ER?" She asked as they entered what seemed to be his lair. There were those dolls everywhere, the hell if she knew their names or not.

"Can't Leila, I've done some...things." He said, his speech severely impaired, which wasn't surprising. She swallowed hard, wondering what these _things _were that he had done. To her it could only mean murder and as much as it frightened her it sort of turned her on too. He sat down heavily and motioned to a box that was on one of the many shelves. Without a word she went and got it and opened it up. Inside were supplies she could use to stitch up his face.

"You know if I do this here, it's really going to hurt." Leila said although looking at him, he had just broken his own hand and ripped his face out of a metal contraption, how much pain could she possibly cause him that he hadn't already been through? She sighed loudly and came over to him with the impromptu first aid kit and started to clean him up as much as possible before starting in on stitching the wound.

He sat there completely still the whole time, not saying anything not making a noise. She couldn't tell if he was happy that she was there or not. Maybe she wasn't supposed to be there, but the letter in the envelope said he would need help and it was right. After finishing the last stitch she stepped back and wiped up the excess blood. He was going to have one hell of a scar but he was alive and it didn't matter to her.

Next she moved onto his hand to bandage that. It was broken, no doubt, and she wasn't a miracle working doctor but she would do what she could. Suddenly he grabbed her chin and gently turned her head towards him and up so they were looking in each others eyes. That's when he seemed to notice the scratch marks on her face for the first time. "She did this to you?"

"I'm fine," Leila said flippantly and gently pulled away from him, "It's you I'm more worried about." She finished bandaging his hand and stood up.

"We have to get that bitch."

"How about we forget about it and just get the hell out of dodge? I can get some cash together and we can just leave. They won't be looking for _my _car and whatever you did can be forgotten just-"

"She tried to kill me Leila. Are you going to let her walk away from that?" He asked, bringing a hand up to his new facial scar and touching it gently. Leila bit her bottom lip, no, she did not want to let Jill get away with what she did. She was just as angry as the man sitting before her if not more. However, the logical thing to do would be to leave before anyone found them. God only knew what Jill was doing right now.

"No, but we don't even know where she is. She could be half way to Canada right now." Leila said trying to be the voice of reason in all of this madness.

"She went to the police."

"How do you-"

"If you are good at anticipating the human mind, it leaves nothing to chance." He said to her. It was a profound thing to say, especially to a psychiatrist such as herself. Maybe if she had known Jill, had time to sit down with her or even observe her she would have drawn the same conclusions. However, her first impression was the woman was scared and just as involved in this as Mark was. "She went to the police, and you are going to help me get her."

Now was the time to make the decision. Should she drop everything, call him crazy, and leave? Or should she help him get the revenge that in her eyes he so deserved? It would be easy to walk away and she was sure that he would let her, but the strings of her heart were being tugged at and she knew she was just in too deep. Besides, she was in love and there was nothing she wouldn't do for Mark Hoffman.

"Alright. What's the plan?"


	4. Rat In A Cage

La Petite Mort

Chapter IV: Rat in a Cage

Author's Note: Woot! I got some reviews, I saw the seventh installment again last night and got some good ideas. I hope you are all enjoying this as much as I am! WOOHOO! Anyway thanks for reading and I hope you continue!

The next three weeks were hard, as Mark was convinced that Jill would go to the police yet she hadn't and since he was 'busy' doing 'things' that she wasn't allowed to know about, she was stuck tailing Jill all over the damn city. He had instructed her not to let Jill out of her sight for a second and she wasn't going to. As soon as she went to the police he was to be informed.

Leila was going on her third night without sleep and was beginning to take micro naps when things got too quiet. Her sex life was lacking and not because she wasn't trying. Mark was way too bent on revenge to even think about sex and she was losing her damn mind. She had even started fantasizing about being with Jill she saw her so much, and Leila was not the kind to discriminate on sexual fantasies when it came to gender.

If Jill noticed she was being followed, Leila was not aware of it. Chances were the woman had been under surveillance before considering who her late husband was. Despite her shoddy stitching, Mark's face was healing nicely and she was just a tiny bit disappointed because she had thought the scar gave him character and made him incredibly sexy. It was still noticeable but she wished that it was more so.

Just as she was reaching for her pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks, there was movement in front of Jill's building. It was around eleven o'clock and Jill was heading out towards her car. Hoping that she wasn't just making a late night run to seven eleven Leila turned her car on and pulled out after Jill once she got her prius on the road. She reached for her phone, just in case Jill really was heading to the police station she wanted to be ready to notify Mark.

She was now two cars behind Jill who was driving like a crazy woman. To her it seemed like she was headed for the police station but they ended up passing it. Leila had enough already, she was just about to ram Jill's car, get her out of it, and beat the crap out of her before bringing her to Hoffman. It would be easier than his stupid elaborate plans to get her back, not that she even knew what any of those plans were. She figured that he was going to kill the woman and frankly she wasn't going to stop it. Just get it over with, that's all she wanted.

They ended up circling the police station three times before Jill finally pulled into the parking lot. Being smart, Leila knew not to follow her and park right next to her. Instead she continued on down the street like nothing had happened and dialed Mark's number on her iPhone.

"Yeah?" Was how he answered. Everything had been so hush hush with him, even on private untraceable cell phones he never said his name any more.

"She just went to the police." Leila said softly.

"Good to know. Go home and get some sleep." Then, just like that, he hung up. She rolled her eyes, three weeks of following some bitch around and all she got was a 'good to know' and 'get some sleep'? She was going to have to have some harsh words with him when they next met up.

She got maybe two hours of sleep before her phone started to ring loudly. She should have known better than to think that she was going to get more sleep than that with all that was going on. Without even lifting her head from the pillow, she brought the phone to her ear and answered it, it didn't take a genius to know it was Hoffman. "What Mark?" She mumbled.

"They are holding Jill at the station, I need you to get down there and make sure she doesn't go anywhere." He ordered. Leila hadn't the foggiest idea how she was going to do that. Surely she couldn't just waltz into the police station and demand to keep an eye on Jill, then everyone would know something was up.

"Mark, have you lost your damn-"

"That badge, the one the FBI gives you for trauma counseling...use that." He instructed, and she realized that he was always one step ahead and there was no need to question him. She was a trauma counselor for the FBI and every year that she was, they issued her a standard ID to use to get past crime scenes and into precincts. With that she was sure to be able to get into the station to watch Jill.

"But won't she-"

"No one will believe her. She's in shock." Hoffman replied already able to anticipate that Leila was going to say that Jill was going to recognize her. It was true, though, there were ways to get around that. Jill would be in a state of shock and paranoid out of her mind. Hell, she would be too if Hoffman was out for her blood.

"Okay I'll give it a shot." Leila said, pulling herself out of bed.

"Don't worry, I'll meet you there." Mark said and then hung up. Leila looked at the phone and blinked a few times. How would he meet her there? The police were already looking for him for the _things _he had done. Not to mention the fact that he was the new Jigsaw. She hated to be kept in the dark about so many things but at the same time she was sort of glad that he didn't include her in that part of his life.

Quickly, she got dressed into a business suit and heels. She went into the bathroom and after brushing her teeth she fixed her long hair up into a bun. There was no telling what this night had in store for her but she knew that it couldn't be something good.

Once she got to the station she was wide awake. Not only was adrenaline pumping through her veins but she had a triple shot latte on her way in. She flashed her badge at all of the important people to pass until she got an actual officer that could help her. His name was Gibson or something, she really wasn't paying much attention. Her whole focus was to get to Jill and frankly this guy was annoying as all hell. He seemed like a guy who would make a joke and laugh at it because no one else was going to.

"What makes you think I'm just going to let you in there?" He asked, motioning to the cell that Jill was now in. Leila looked at him, very business and professional like. She couldn't flinch once at his questioning, she had to look more important than him.

"I was called in here by Assistant Director Skinner, and I'm sure he's way above your head. Now if you'll show me to Ms. Tuck please?" Gibson looked at her skeptically but then led her over to the cell where Jill was sitting and looking nervous.

"Hey crazy, this woman wants to talk to you." Gibson said looking over at Leila. "She's a little crazy." He said turning to her and whispering but being loud enough that Jill could hear him without a problem. Jill stood up and came over to the front of the cell to get a better look at Leila.

"I'm not talking to you! You're helping him!" Jill declared and then took a step back.

"Sure Jill, everyone is helping Hoffman." Gibson said with the roll of his eyes he then handed over the key to the cell, "Talk to her all you want, I have things to do." Then Gibson was gone. Leila smiled wickedly at Jill her back to the security camera in there. She knew with a camera like that it was only picking up video, not sound, so she could basically say anything she wanted to Jill as long as her back was to the camera.

"You remember me? First you fucked up his face then you got mine. Still have a scar, not as bad as his of course." Leila said, motioning to the small line under her eye which was expertly covered with makeup.

"You're crazy! Why are you helping him?" Jill demanded.

"Because I love him." Leila responded simply. It didn't matter to her what Hoffman had done, or what he would continue to do, the point was he was always perfectly nice and loving to her why should she change her opinion of him cause of the bottle blond bitch in front of her? "He's never been anything more than loving with me."

"Then I doubt you've been tested." Jill said folding her arms over her ample chest and turning her head away from Leila.

"I have, I was one of the first." Leila informed her and then opened the door to the cell and came in, advancing on Jill. At that point she really wanted to punch the bitch in the face but she knew she was being watched and had to hold back. Jill didn't know a damn thing about her and yet she was acting high and mighty. For someone who was a sitting duck she certainly had an attitude.

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, and that is why I have a real big problem with how you tried to kill Mark Hoffman." Leila said, sitting down next to Jill on her bed. Jill got up and moved away from Leila, scooting all the way down to the end of the bed.

"Really?"

"Yeah, some sort of reverse bear trap, just like the one that I had to get out of. More modern but it would have gotten the job done had you not underestimated his power." Leila said, "You are completely right, you don't have to talk to me. I am here to ensure you go nowhere."

"And just how do you think you are keeping me in here?" Jill asked, her voice now shaking along with her hands. She was trying to play it cool but it was clear she was losing it.

"I'm bigger than you, willing to bet I'm stronger...we may be equal in brains because we are both doctors but I have the psychology thing behind me. Not to mention I'm pissed and want to see you dead just as much as he does, so do you really think you are leaving?" Leila challenged her. Jill's lower lip trembled and slowly she turned to look at Leila.

"Then I'll see you in hell." She snapped. Leila laughed and headed out of the cell, locking it behind her. There was no telling when Hoffman was going to get there so getting a cup of coffee seemed like a good idea. She had the key to the cell, there were cameras everywhere, Jill was going nowhere.

She walked through the now, mostly empty police station, towards the lounge. There were signs posted telling her where to go to get there so she wasn't having a problem. When she got in there she was still alone, and wondering why every single damn officer in the city seemed to be somewhere else. Whatever these _things _were that Hoffman was doing, they were major. She poured herself a cup of coffee and sat down on the couch. The cell key was heavy in her pocket and so were her eye lids.

In the end she dozed off, despite her best intentions. She was amazed because of how much caffeine she had in her but it didn't matter. It was obvious to her that Jill wasn't going anywhere and with the fact that there were probably only about three officers in the whole damn precinct, Mark should have no problem finding his way in.

(Sorry about the short chapter, wanted to get something out there so you didn't think I forgot about this fic. The real action is coming up!)


	5. Bloodlust

La Petite Mort

Chapter V: Bloodlust

Author's Note: Okay it's going to get rough here, don't say I didn't warn you. There is some sexual stuff coming up and I know Saw fans tend to balk at that more than House and SVU fans. It's just how it is. Anyway, expect violence and swearing and all of that. Enjoy!

Leila was jolted awake for some unknown reason. It was like there was a disturbance in her dreams, although she couldn't remember what she had dreamed when it came down to it. She felt the key in her pocket and realized she should go check on Jill. Chances were the woman was still in her cell, but something was screaming at her that things were awry. She stepped out of the lounge and for the first time ever she wished she would have carried that sig that Hoffman had taught her to use. She was posing as an FBI agent, how much of a stretch was it to be carrying a gun with her?

She hurried to the holding room when suddenly she was grabbed from behind. She went to scream when a bloody, gloved hand covered her mouth. It was obviously blood oozing on her face because not only could she smell it, it didn't have the consistency of water. She started to shake and closed her eyes, so this was it? She was going to be dead on the floor in thirty seconds and all she could think of was telling Hoffman goodbye.

"Leila, be very quiet." It was Mark's voice and she was so relieved to hear him she could have cried. Slowly he removed his hand from her mouth and she was dimly aware that there was now blood streaked across her face. "I was hoping you'd already be in the cell, then you wouldn't have to see the things I'm about to do."

"What things?" She whispered back. Due to the blood on his glove she knew he had at least killed one person, and when she turned to look at him she saw the blood dripping knife in his dominant hand. She swallowed hard and looked at him, but not in disbelief. It had become clear to her way before this that he was a murderer but he had spared her, he had always spared her and so she would continue to love him despite what she knew he was capable of.

"Just stay behind me." He said. She got behind him as he started to walk into the room where that one female detective had been sitting. She was still in there and Leila had no idea how he was about to get past her. Instead of going into the room completely, she held back, her heels would make a clicking sound on the floor alerting the detective to someone's presence. From around the corner she watched as Hoffman grabbed her and snapped her neck. Leila felt something flare up inside of her when she saw that. The sheer dominance and power he had exuded was enough to turn her on even though he had just killed a woman. He tossed the body aside like it was nothing and motioned for Leila.

She walked into the room as quietly as possible, her eyes avoiding the now dead woman on the floor. "I need to get a gun." He told her honestly, Leila looked around. There were no officers between them and the cell now, because Leila had been in there they had assumed she would protect Jill, boy did they have the wrong idea about her priorities.

"Why do you need-" That's when she saw that the detective he had just killed had one in a holster around her waist. She got down and picked it up handing it over to him and stowing the rest of the question.

"If she's stupid enough to run from an expert gunman...we'll see what happens." Hoffman said and then opened the door to get to the cell. As soon as they were in there, Jill started to scream for help, not knowing that help was not going to come. Mark turned to Leila, "I'm assuming you have the key?"

"Right here." She said and pulled it from her pocket. With a shaky hand she held it out to him, knowing that she had no right to be as turned on as she was in that moment. Jill continued screaming as Hoffman opened the cell door and came in. Leila watched this scene unfold with intense interest. No one knew what could possibly happen when a woman that psycho was cornered. Hoffman grabbed Jill by the hair and brought her face close to his. For a split second Leila was sure they were going to kiss, but that's not what happened.

"How do I look?" He breathed into her ear. She screamed out again and in a move neither of them saw coming, jammed something into Hoffman's neck. He groaned out in pain and stumbled back. Leila was so surprised at this she didn't even think to stop Jill from running past her. "FUCK!"

"MARK!" Leila cried, coming over to him. There was an artery in the neck and God forbid Jill had hit that. Hoffman pulled the object from his neck without even checking to see what it was and tossed it to the side.

"I'm fine." He growled, "Now help me get her!" Leila nodded, taking a cursory glance at Mark's neck. It wasn't bleeding too much and thankfully it had missed the jugular. Leila was a little quicker on her feet, considering that she hadn't just been stabbed in the neck and she took off running in Jill's direction. After running quite a bit she realized that her heels were making too much noise and slipped them off, tossing them to the side.

"Come here you little bitch." She muttered, and heard movement to her left. She ducked into the room that it had come from and looked around. After turning on the light she realized that Mark was right behind her. He was some sort of super human or something, at least in her eyes. The lights were flipped on and Leila was amazed to see she was standing in the middle of an evidence room that seemed to be entirely devoted to Jigsaw. She took in a sharp breath and tried to ignore the horror it stirred up in her body.

"Find her." Hoffman ordered and Leila nodded. They each went to a different side of the room and started to look. In a corner by a file cabinet is where Leila found Jill. Without hesitation she grabbed her by the hair and yanked her to her feet. Being that Leila was taller than Jill it worked out nicely.

"THE BITCH IS RIGHT HERE!" Leila yelled, causing Jill to wince. Hoffman came over to Jill who looked ready to claw his eyes out. Quickly, Hoffman punched her in the stomach and Leila let go of her hair. Jill fell to her knees and amazingly pulled herself to her feet, Leila could only deduce that it was the adrenaline coursing through her veins that allowed her to do that. Mark was ready for it though and slammed Jill's head down onto a near by table.

"You fucking cunt." He breathed, doing it again and again until Jill's head was bleeding and she was in a considerable daze. Leila was breathing hard, there was no telling what was going to happen next. Still holding Jill by the hair, Hoffman turned to Leila and held out his knife. "You want a piece of her?"

"Damn straight." Leila said, maddened with blood lust. Hoffman turned, taking Jill into his arms and holding her so she couldn't move.

"Leila...Leila please..." Jill begged still in and out from the blow to the head. If she was struggling against Mark it was hard to tell because he had her in such a good grip. Leila knew they were going to have to be quick, but she wanted to kill the bitch in front of her so bad it was almost scary to her. They were past the point of no return anyway. If Hoffman killed her and she was there she would be labeled an accomplice anyway, so why not show Mark all that she had and end it right there?

Wanting to do it in such a way that Jill couldn't scream and alert anyone to their position, Leila took the knife she now held and jammed it into the side of Jill's neck so hard that the blade protruded from the other side. Jill cried out, or rather tried to as she began to choke on her own blood. Hoffman shoved her forward and ripped the knife out of her neck, blood spilling everywhere. He grabbed Leila, who was in shock from what she had done, and pulled her towards the door.

"Game over." Hoffman said to Jill and with that they were out the door, leaving Jill to bleed out. Leila's whole body was flushed with all sorts of natural chemicals. Adrenaline, endorphins, arousal, anger, lust, fear...the list went on and on and the combination of all of them were driving her crazy. Once they made it out of the precinct she opened her mouth to say something to Mark when he grabbed her and slammed her up against the wall.

They had left through a back exit and fortunately people still didn't seem to have the slightest clue what had been carried on there in the past twenty or so minutes. He initiated a passionate kiss and she kissed him back, running her hands over his body hungrily. They obviously both needed this and it was a little weird for her because she never knew blood and murder could turn her on this much.

He pushed her skirt up roughly and before she was even aware things were going down he had thrust into her roughly. She cried out passionately and he covered her mouth with his still gloved hand. This only fueled her arousal and she brought her legs up, wrapping them around his waist tightly. He was now deep inside of her, thrusting like an animal. Her moans were muffled by his hand and he was making very little noise if any. The look in his eyes was love, no doubt about that, but there was an animalistic drive there too. This quickly brought her over the edge into orgasm and he followed quickly thereafter.

When they had both calmed down enough to function, he grabbed her arm and pulled her towards her car. The world came rushing back around her once she sat down and they sped off towards wherever he was deciding to take her. She knew after this they would be together forever and it wasn't an uncomfortable thought. He was the only man she wanted to be with anyway and this was just sealing the deal.

"I'm taking you back to your place. Pack a bag, get Sawyer, and meet me outside in one hour." He said, still breathing hard. She couldn't find her voice to answer him so she just nodded. Surely he had things to take care of, evidence to get rid of, and she just didn't care any more. He had killed, she had killed, they were on a level playing field.

"I love you." She finally whispered.

"I love you too, Leila." He said back to her. She smiled and sank down into her seat more. Things were absolutely amazing at that point and she never anted them to change.

When they pulled up to her building, she kissed him goodbye and got out, quickly running inside. She burst through the door to her penthouse and immediately went to the bedroom, Sawyer following close behind her wagging his tail. She had never had to pack in such a hurry and knew only to take a light bag, it was going to be hard leaving most of her things behind but it was for the best. They wouldn't be hot on her trail for a while and it wasn't unfeasible to think that she would be able to pull her savings out of the bank before they closed her account. She had _a lot _of money in the bank, mostly because the penthouse had been paid off and she ran her own practice. With the money she had in there, they would be able to live nicely in another country somewhere for a while.

After packing a bunch of clothes, she grabbed the gun that Hoffman had given her a while back and put it in its case before also throwing that in her bag. Next came toiletries in a small bag and her phone along with her laptop. The last thing she grabbed as she was leaving was her iPod and a leash for Sawyer. It had taken about forty-five minutes to get everything in her bag as panicked as she was, and then pull Sawyer outside. She sat down on a bench and lit a cigarette. She had a good fifteen minutes to wait before he would be there, but she knew he would be good on his word.

Fifteen minutes passed, then thirty, then sixty. It had been officially two hours now that she had been waiting and she knew something was wrong. Either he had been caught by the police, or severely injured. She didn't like to think of either one of those possibilities. Grabbing her bag, and Sawyer's leash, she took everything back upstairs and started to cry. It didn't occur to her that he might have just left her behind, that was not like him.

She picked up her phone and dialed his number. The reason she didn't do it outside was because she didn't need anyone to overhear the conversation, if there was one. Instead the phone went directly to voicemail and instead of leaving a message she hung up. The last thing she needed was someone to hear her voice if it wasn't indeed Mark who picked it up. Not knowing what to do, she lit up another cigarette and turned on the TV to the local news station. If Mark had indeed been caught it would be all over the place.

After carefully studying the news for fifteen minutes, there was no mention of a killer being apprehended anywhere. Shit. Something had happened to him and she just knew it. Her car was still parked at the police station and she wasn't going back there to collect it, so she was a bit out of her league when it came to finding him. She paced the room, trying to think of how to get any leads on where Mark was when the news caster said something about a S.U.R.V.I.V.E meeting being held early that morning at a church that wasn't too far from her place. She didn't know why, but something was telling her to go to it.

When she had first learned of these groups she had been only once. Everyone there wanted to liken their experiences to some life changing, God like intervention. There was this one bitch there, though, who only complained about losing her arm. Leila wasn't big on group therapy, especially when she was a psychiatrist herself, but tonight she was going to go to that meeting. There was something calling her to it and she'd be damned if she ignored that calling.


	6. Coercion

La Petite Mort

Chapter VI: Coercion

Author's Note: So nice to get so many reviews on this more than I expected actually. On that note lets continue! This is just an imagining of what I think might have happened after Hoffman was put in the bathroom. No one can tell me I'm right or wrong because we just don't know! So I hope you enjoy!

Leila walked to the church with Sawyer by her side. It took a bit of time because Sawyer wanted to stop and pee on everything. Soon they were outside and she took in a deep breath. No one could know she was an accomplice to Hoffman and she had to get her stories straight. Usually these meetings were held at night so it was weird that one would be going on this early in the morning. It only signaled to her that the survivors knew something that she didn't. The church didn't say anything about not letting dogs inside the meeting room so she brought Sawyer in with her. If anyone asked she could tell them he was her protection. They need not know about the gun she was concealing.

There was a group of people inside that she had seen before, the black girl with one arm, the junkie with the arm in a sling, and the doctor that walked with a cane to name a few. She supposed that she had been lucky, all she had to do was rip a device from her mouth. Sure she had to kill a person in order to do that but she wasn't left with any physical scars. There were other men and women there who did not bare any physical scars either, but they were knee deep in emotional ones. If she wasn't already in too deep she could make a business out of treating the victims, being that she was one herself.

The doctor with the cane was in the middle of a speech as she entered. He sounded elated and she didn't know why. These meetings were all about people feeling sorry for themselves. Now there was joy? Something was definitely going on. "...and because of that, it's over. No more Jigsaw victims, I can promise all of you that." He was saying, and she thought she recalled his name as Gordon or something. How did he know the Jigsaw games were over? Was he a part of this all along too? Then why didn't Hoffman mention him? Something was completely a miss and she was very nonplussed by his speech. Once he was done, everyone started clapping and this caused Sawyer to bark, alerting everyone to her presence in the doorway.

They all turned to look at her and she forced a smile, hoping that it didn't look overly fake. "What's this about the killings being over?" She asked coming more into the room with her dog.

"No need to go into specifics, it's been taken care of." The doctor she was calling Gordon in her head said. She didn't like this answer but everyone else seemed to be satiated by it and she could act like she was too. Gordon was clearly a part in Hoffman's undoing and now it was just a matter of ascertaining if he was still alive. Her hopes on her lover still being alive were dwindling especially when he said 'its been taken care of' but in any case she would need closure. Either a dead body or a live one, it didn't matter to her.

She took a seat in the group as everyone started to chat amongst themselves about how Jigsaw was gone and never returning. That might be true if she didn't have anything to say about it. Gordon came over to her and slowly took a seat. It was good because he was the only person she wanted to talk to at that point. "Why do you look so upset? Any survivor would be happy to-"

"My boyfriend left me. He says I have too many emotional scars and he doesn't want to deal with my shit." Leila lied, the words rolling off of her tongue smoothly. She was surprised at how quickly that lie came out, maybe she was getting as good as her counterpart. Gordon nodded and put a gentle arm around her to console her. "How exactly do you know the Jigsaw games will stop?" She inquired, sounding more like a paranoid disbeliever than an accuser.

"Sources have told me it's over." He said still being cryptic.

"What sources? There's been absolutely nothing on the news and-"

"You can choose to accept it as truth or believe it's a lie, but I do not lie about such things." Gordon said and then excused himself to go talk to someone who was calling to him. Leila narrowed her gaze at him and just knew that he was hiding something, and that she was somehow running out of time.

She hung around the meeting drinking coffee until everyone but Gordon had left. He seemed to be the leader of this meeting and was probably waiting for her to stray. She had already decided that he knew something that he wasn't telling and now that everyone was gone she was going to get on his case. Quickly she apprehended him and pushed him up against the wall. Sawyer noticed her tension and started to growl at Gordon, he didn't like strange men to begin with and was only doing what he thought he should. Being that he was an Irish Wolf Hound and taller than Gordon on his hind legs, he was very menacing.

Leila pulled her gun and put it under Gordon's chin swiftly. He took in a sharp breath but it looked like he might have been threatened like this before so he wasn't exactly panicking. "Alright what did you do to him?" Leila demanded softly. Sawyer continued to growl like a rabid hound dog.

"I don't know what-"

"Cut the bullshit, Gordon, what did you do to Hoffman?" Leila said, she didn't have time for pleasantries and she wasn't going to go out of her way to be nice to him either. She knew that there was no way he was going to answer her unless she had a gun in his face and she was right. He offered her a wicked smile as he drew the connection.

"You're the woman whose shoes were found in the precinct." He said slowly. She blinked a few times and remembered kicking them off in order to chase Jill faster. Shit. "They are looking for you, you know. Although they presume you are a victim. Not much of one I see."

"Shut up!" She screeched and Sawyer let out a menacing bark. Gordon tried to back up but was only met with the wall. Leila was about his height, a bit shorter than she wanted to be in tennis shoes and not heels, but the presence she gave off made her seem ten feet tall. "Is he dead? Did you kill him?"

"He's in a safe place." Gordon replied cryptically, but she didn't have time to play his stupid games.

"Why did you go after him? Unless you're connected to Jigsaw too." Leila said slowly, "But you don't want to continue Jigsaw's legacy, that much is clear. Look all Mark and I want to do is get the hell out of town. The games stop and you're the hero. Tell me where the hell he is, NOW!" She slipped the safety off of the gun.

"So you're on a first name basis with him?"

"What do you care. Jigsaw had a card up his sleeve Mark didn't know about, well Mark had one up his sleeve you didn't know about. So the playing field is evened out it seems." Leila was slowly losing her grip on reality, the thought that Hoffman was trapped somewhere with no possible means of escape was pulling at her heart. She had to save him, she had to do something, but she had to remember the man standing before her held the answers and she couldn't just blow his brains out.

"What makes you think that when I tell you I won't just go to the police and report you as an accomplice?" Gordon threatened. Leila let out a snort of laughter, was he really going to play it that way?

"You're an accomplice too." She sneered right back at him. She still held an ace, though, it would be a dirty trick but she could easily cry rape on Gordon. Maybe they wouldn't be able to prove it but he would be locked up for a few days while all the stories were put straight. "So tell me where he is."

"No." Gordon said simply, "The games end here."

"Yes, they do. I said we just want to leave town!" Leila yelled at him. She didn't exactly know Hoffman's intent if he were freed and if he wanted to continue the games in another city she would not stop him, but the truth was she didn't know. What she did know was exactly what she had been told, which was that they were leaving the city, the state, and maybe even the country.

"How long have you known him?"

"What does that matter?" Leila snapped back.

"Trust me he's probably given you some clue as to where he is. You just have to find it." Gordon said, speaking in riddles again. That's when Leila remembered the envelope of information Hoffman had given her. She had never looked at the other stuff, just the note, and had shoved the rest in a drawer. Maybe there was something in that packet of papers that signaled where he was. It was that or Gordon was just messing with her.

"I need more information than that." Leila said, not willing to let him go on that.

"He's where my test took place." Gordon said with a grimace, "And that's all your getting so either blow my head off now or leave." Leila swallowed hard. How was she supposed to know where Gordon's test had taken place? Unless...she smiled slightly.

"You saw doctor Sweeney after your test, didn't you?" Leila asked. She only remembered this because he had mentioned it at the first and last meeting that she had been to. He looked at her, his silence only confirming that she was right. "Good, good. Now take off your foot."

"What?"

"Oh that was not a request you fuck." Leila said and stepped back, still aiming the gun at him, "Take it off yourself, or Sawyer here will make it his new chew toy..." Gordon growled at her and quickly removed his prosthetic foot. Shakily he held it out to her. She snatched it away and grabbed his cane too. Knowing that he had some how gotten out of whatever trap he was in where he had to remove his trap, it wasn't a stretch to think he would be able to find help rather quickly. This would slow him down considerably though. "Car keys too."

"BITCH!" He yelled at her and she backhanded him across the face, knowing that she could do much worse if she wanted to.

"You're my bitch now. Give me the keys!" She was high on adrenaline at this point and she really wanted to kill the man, but if she couldn't find where Hoffman was after a suitable period of time she was going to have to hunt him down again. He reached into his pocket and handed over the car keys.

"Fuck you."

"I wouldn't touch you with a ten foot pole. Hope you don't mind dog fur in your precious..." She looked down at the keys, "Oo a Mercedes!" With that she shoved him to the floor, making his predicament even worse and slowly backed out of the door with a growling Sawyer. "If I hear any screaming for help on my way out I'll run back here and blow your brains out. Give it a good five minutes." She warned and then ran out of there with her dog.

She knew where doctor Sweeney worked but not where he lived. Didn't matter much, though, because she was going to have to go to his office anyway. The plan was to get the case file and notes on Gordon's sessions. No doubt he had described over and over where he had been held captive and sawed through his own foot. He obviously knew the location if he had put Hoffman there, and so it had to have been written down somewhere. The last thing she wanted to do was go looking through case files in the police station because she would have to kill to get them, well more than just one person.

When she got to the office of doctor Sweeney, it was normal business hours and the place was open. She left Sawyer in the car with the doctor's fake foot and cane and opened the door to the private office. There was a secretary behind the front desk and before she could say anything Leila had the gun in her face. "Scream and you die." The secretary swallowed hard and nodded. No doubt she was wondering what exactly a gun toting lunatic wanted in a psychiatrist's office.

"Just remain calm. We can work out anything you want." The secretary said slowly moving towards the phone.

"Press the silent alarm with your foot and I'll kill you, I don't care if the cops are on their way." Leila said, "They are looking for me anyway. I have nothing to lose. Call doctor Sweeney in here, NOW!" The secretary pressed a button on the phone and on the speaker it picked up.

"Yes Candi?" The elderly male voice said.

"Doctor, we have someone here that needs to see you." The Candi bitch said shakily into the phone.

"Tell her them they'll have to-"

"She has a gun. I don't think she's going to wait." Candi cut him off. In less than a minute doctor Sweeney made his appearance in the main lobby.

"Doctor Dawson..."

"Give me everything you have on Gordon." She demanded, now aiming the gun at him. He put his hands up calmly to show her that he was no threat, and she knew that now he was going to start in on some calming bullshit to try and reason with her. Luckily she was of the same profession and knew all of the dirty tricks he could pull.

"Doctor Dawson, you are going to have to give me a first name." He said slowly, obviously realizing that she was not the kind of woman to be tricked at that point. She didn't know Gordon's first name. This had to be a trick to stall her, she just sensed that the silent alarm had been pushed in that instant.

"Give me all the files on everyone named Gordon." Leila demanded. When Sweeney hesitated she turned and shot Candi in the head. Brains sprayed back over the wall behind her and she fell violently to the floor.

"Shit! Alright!" Sweeney cried and rushed into his office. She followed after him as he shakily went through his file cabinet. Luckily he was so old fashioned that all of his notes were written or typed with a type writer. She wouldn't have to worry about a laptop or computer at that point. Everything she would need to know would be in the files. In the end he handed over three large folders and she took them into her arms.

"Did she press the silent alarm?"

"I'm afraid she did." Sweeney said, although Leila didn't know how he could have possibly known that. She didn't think he was bluffing though, since the police were already on their way there was no reason to shoot him, which was good because now her body count was at two and frankly she didn't need it to climb any higher.

"You got lucky." She growled and then ran out of the office and back to the car before peeling out of there. She would find a quiet, back alley to review the case files and find where Hoffman was. No one was going to catch her in Gordon's car, she at least hoped, if that gimp had already found help she might be screwed. She shook her head, no, now was not time to think of such things. She would be fine, and so would Hoffman. That was the end of it.


	7. Trick Shot

La Petite Mort

Chapter VII: Trick Shot

Author's Note: So I am trying to get this out while Saw VII is still relevant. I am trying really hard to be as canon as possible, but I mean Leila is an OC so she can do what she wants LoL! It's clear Hoffman didn't know about the bathroom but that doesn't mean Gordon never told anyone, and who better than his psychiatrist? I dunno I had to have her find out somehow! Keep reading please!

The first file she looked at was for a Laura Gordon. She knew right then that it wasn't the Gordon she knew unless he had suddenly went from female to male. She was left with two files now, Lawrence or Peter. "Larry or Pete...lets start with Larry." She muttered to herself and on that first shot she struck gold. His file was large, but it started with his account in...a bathroom? He had been stuck in there with some dude named Adam. She continued to read and read, hoping he'd give out landmarks or something.

There was an account of what he did to stop the bleeding and that some "unknown" man had helped him (which she knew was Jigsaw now) and as he was leaving the building he saw...a water tower with graffiti on it that clearly read "Ice Crew" in blue frosty letters. Lucky for everyone involved she knew exactly where that was. It wasn't because she hung with the Ice Crew or whatever, it was because there had been this whole thing about tax dollars being used to paint over it.

She pointed her car in the direction of that tower, and it wasn't far from where she now sat, and took off. Sawyer was a little startled by the motion of the car and ended up clawing a hole in one of the leather seats. Leila snickered to herself, right now the car was the least of her worries.

So, she was looking for a large, abandoned building with a bathroom in it. A large bathroom. What kind of psycho used an abandoned bathroom for a trap? Jigsaw, she had to remind herself, and now Hoffman was there and possibly chained to a pipe much like Gordon had been. Then her heart started pounding as she thought about Mark cutting his own foot off in a haste to get out of there. She had to hurry, she just had to.

In the end she sped through three red lights, cutting off numerous drivers, but no police seemed to be around, which was good, because if they pulled her over they would realize she was in a stolen car, she was not a victim of Hoffman, and that she was wanted for at least one murder. Mark had taken the knife she had used to kill Jill with him so at least that evidence was safe. The gun, however, was registered to her and once they figured that out she was a dead duck. Although she had no idea how those gun recognition tests worked, maybe it would have had to have been used in a previous unsolved murder, she wasn't sure.

When she got out of the car she looked around until she could spot the water tower. As soon as she could she noticed the door to an abandoned building. It had been closed haphazardly but was not locked. The door looked heavy and she was hoping she could get it open, at least enough to let herself in. After grabbing a hold of the handle and shoving for a few minutes, she was able to budge it maybe three feet. It was on a guided track but the track had been rusted over quite some time ago making the wheels stick.

Pulling her gun, she stepped into the building and looked around. Her arms were trembling and she'd be hard pressed to make an actual shot if someone were to jump out of her, but she thought she looked menacing enough with it that maybe whoever this imaginary assailant was, he would back off. "Mark?" She called softly, wishing now that she would have brought Sawyer in with her. If he was good for anything it was tracking down another person who could pet him. She wouldn't say Sawyer was the smartest dog in the world, but he had a bit of common sense about him.

"MARK!" She called again, louder and more panicked that time. What if he could hear her but she couldn't hear him? That would be a real cluster fuck. "MARK! IF YOU CAN HEAR ME FOR FUCK'S SAKE LET ME KNOW!" She screamed, getting desperate. There was a set of stairs in front of her now and she didn't know if she wanted to go down it or not. Then she heard a banging noise over head. It sounded a lot like the echo on a pipe, as if someone far away was banging on it.

With total disregard to herself, she raced down the stairs in pursuit of the source. For all she knew it could be a rat or dripping water, but it sounded louder and more methodical than that. "MARK! IF THAT'S YOU KEEP BANGING!" She shouted, her voice shaky. She paused again and the banging got louder and more persistent. Okay so it was Mark, now she just had to follow the noise to its source. She wanted to move faster than she already was, but she was scared and it was dark. There was a lone light here and there, but nothing overly bright and God only knew if there was someone lurking in the shadows.

"LEILA?" She heard his voice as she rounded a corner. Down at the end of the hall there was a huge sliding door that had been locked with a large padlock. His voice was coming from behind that metal door. She ran over to it and in panic started to pull at the lock, but it was holding tight.

"Mark! I'm here! There's a lock on the door!" She called through the metal, not knowing how loud she had to be in order for him to hear her. She looked around quickly to see if there was anything that could be used to break the lock from it's hinge when she spotted the hacksaw on the floor and swallowed hard. "You didn't cut your foot off right?" She asked shakily, getting down to pick up the hacksaw. She'd love him regardless of if he had two feet or one, it's just she was only a psychiatrist and would have a big problem stopping the bleeding though she had medical training.

"Do you think I'm that much of a fucking idiot?" He called back. She paused and thought about it. The man had broken his hand and ripped half his face off trying to escape a reverse bear trap. Yeah she sort of did think he was that much of a fucking idiot. "Okay well I'm not." He added.

"Sorry." She snickered a little and a tear escaped her eye, "What's it like in there? Why can't you get to the door?"

"I'm chained to a pipe." He called and then banged on said pipe for effect. That was the whole reason she had found him in the first place. She realized that not only was she going to have to deal with the lock on the door, she was going to somehow have to get his foot out of the chain without too much damage. SHe supposed she could break his ankle and pull it out, but then he'd be no good running when they needed to.

"The cops are after me, I'm sure. I threatened that Gordon guy with a gun and killed a secretary to get information on where you were." Leila said, her voice was soft but loud enough for him to just barely hear her. There was a loud sigh on the other end of the door.

"The cops have been after me for a while, just stay with me and we'll get out." He said, trying to reassure her and this caused a smile to cross her face. It's true, Hoffman and her had ransacked an entire police station, killed Jill, and a whole army of police officers and they had gotten out unscathed. "Can you get the lock off the door?"

"It's on a rusty hinge, I think I just need to find something to hit it with." Leila replied. If she had a hammer or a crowbar it wouldn't be that hard to get the whole lock to fall off without having to worry about a key.

"Look for something, I'm sure there's a loose bar in this shit hole." Hoffman said.

"Alright give me a minute." She said and started to walk away from the door when she realized she was holding a gun. She rolled her eyes at her very own stupidity and took aim at the door. After taking a few more steps back to make sure she was out of range from any ricochet she fired twice at the lock in rapid succession. The results were immediate, there were sparks but the lock fell completely off of its hinge and onto the floor. She kicked it out of the way and slid the door open completely. The first thing she noticed was the intense smell of death. It was pitch black in there too, she couldn't see Mark even after her eyes adjusted. "Mark?"

"Did you just shoot the door?" He asked almost in disbelief.

"Yeah," She replied and felt her hands over the grime covered walls until she found a light switch. Once she flicked it on the florescent lights kicked in with a hum, coming on one after the other, six in all. That's when she saw Hoffman on the floor with the chain that was indeed around his ankle. There was a rotting foot by the door and a dead, rotting carcass of what she could only assume was the Adam guy from Gordon's reports. Mark winced at the sudden light and Leila ran over to him, embracing him tightly. "Jesus I was so scared!"

"Well I'm fine, a bit thirsty but fine." Hoffman replied, hugging her back. "No doubt in my mind you'd find me though."

"I knew you wouldn't just leave me after all we've been through. Something was wrong and I fixed it. Now how do we get you out of this cuff? I can't just shoot it, can I?" She asked and together they both looked down and saw the little padlock that was holding the metal cuff to his ankle. Her stomach turned, if she shot that tiny little thing then yes, it would break, however, what if she ended up hitting him instead? Could she hand over the gun and let him do it? Or was he too close? She started shaking.

"Leila you have to." He said, putting a hand on her arm trying to steady it.

"Mark, I can't. What if I shoot you? Then we'll really be up shit creek without a paddle." She said, tears starting to cloud her vision.

"You won't. How many shots did it take you to get in that door?" He asked her.

"Two, you heard it and-"

"Yeah if you were a shit shot it would have taken more. I completely trust you Leila." He said confidently. The lights buzzing above her head were getting to her and she pulled away from him. She loved him enough that she wanted to try, but she also loved him enough to spare him from pain if she missed. He was desperate and had shown he could take pain if needed and he couldn't stay down there forever. Sooner or later Gordon could show up, or the cops, and that was the last thing they needed.

Slowly she pulled her gun again and took aim. One shot should do it, no need to pull the trigger twice. Hoffman moved so that the lock was more accessible and she closed her eyes, finger on the trigger. "No no, look at what you are doing, deep breath and then exhale slowly as you shoot. Be smart Leila." He coaxed her. She nodded her head furiously in agreement and took in a deep breath. Hoffman closed his eyes and looked away, so much for showing her he was confident. She concentrated hard on the lock, aiming at it as best she could before pulling the trigger. She didn't give him warning because she didn't want him to flinch.

There was the sound of metal hitting metal and the bullet ricocheting, then there was a pain in her arm, a very sharp pain. "AH! SHIT!" She stumbled back and held her now bleeding arm. The bullet had done its job and the lock was off, unfortunately it had bounced back and hit her in the arm. Hoffman came to her and embraced her carefully before pulling back to look at her.

"Move your hand." He said gently. She did and it looked probably worse than it was. The bullet was indeed in her arm but it was shallow, it didn't enter with as much force as it could have. She would need to dig it out with tweezers and disinfect it but other than that she would survive. "Not too bad." He said and then kissed her.

"No, it's not actually." She said, looking at it, "Hurts like a bitch though."

"I bet it does. Now, lets go, we have unfinished business to take care of." Hoffman took her hand and started to pull her out of the bathroom. She blinked a few times wondering what he was talking about. The whole purpose of rescuing him was so they could leave the city. Now he wanted to take care of unfinished business? She had to say something.

"Mark, we have to get out of here. What could possibly need taking care of?"

"Gordon."


End file.
